it was lovely getting to know you, atlanta. hope we meet again. General ATL + a surprise Last weekend trip with Maria to ATL's top 5 attractions: 1) Zoo Atlanta, 2) Fernbank Museum, 3) CNN Studio, 4) Coke Studio and 5) Georgia Aquarium
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As a way to reconnect with the community that introduced me to computer science two years ago, I came back to Girls Who Code as a TA for the Atlanta AT&T office this summer.
And what a summer it was. Every day was a new adventure -- but I think that might be any high school teacher's motto. These girls were all going into their junior or senior year, which meant they weren't too much younger than me. It took some navigating before I found a middle ground between being their companion and being their instructor. 20 teenage girls. 8 hour workdays. 5 days a week. 2 person teaching team, neither who have had classroom experience. Without a doubt, it was challenging. Just keeping their attention on a subject that an overwhelming majority had no prior experience with was by far more difficult than the material they were learning. Now that I've had some time to sort out my thoughts about this summer internship, I appreciate how much I am coming out with. I was inspired by an talented, strong, vocal group of young women who were not afraid to speak their mind. I got the chance to work with a tenacious woman, Kim, who believed in herself so much that she confidently stood her ground even when others disagreed with her. I interacted closely with our AT&T Partner Point of Contact, Sonia Daniels, who's experience with and determination towards the GWC program clearly showed and made the summer as memorable to us as it was to the girls. I met parents who wanted nothing more but to see their daughters succeed in life. I met tech professionals like Jasmine Dennis of Splunk, who was so excited about the mission of the program that she came back for a mentoring session and gave an inspiring speech at Graduation. I learnt about other internship opportunities that AT&T and partnering companies had and developed connections that could help me in the future. But I think the most eye opening moment for me was during a field trip to the Atlanta Tech Village. This building incubates many start ups, and in the nature of modern tech companies and the idea of transparency, most office spaces had ceiling-to-floor glass panels for at least two sides of the room. While we couldn't meet many working individuals while on our tour, we could see them in action. The disparity between the amount of men vs the amount of women was stunning. It's one thing to hear about the gender gap in the tech field and another to actually see it. It's easy to say that by the end of the day, my job inspiring those students seemed all the more important. I hope we were successful. I only get to travel standby until I graduate which means I can either study for longer than I would like or I can make use of free weekends and do my fair share of sightseeing before I turn 23. Naturally, I chose the latter. This weekend, I went up to DC to see Niyati and we had the most amazing day. Surprisingly, Ila and Sanchi also happened to be in town and we were able to meet them at hipster vegan brunch spot. Three carrot-cake-pancakes-with-vegan-cream-cheese-frosting-and-coconut-milk-whipped-cream later... Niyati and I made our way to the National Building Museum where there was an exhibit open called the Fun House. Most of the pictures following this are taken at the NBM by my amazing photographer friend. It was a lot of fun taking it so hopefully it'll be just as much fun seeing it. After the Fun House we made our way to the gorgeous Botanical Gardens before we headed back home for a quick chai/nap stop. Here's where I realized I might have a small addiction to morning caffeine and only after this evening tea did my headache seem to subside. A strong cup of ginger chai (kudos to Niayti) and some Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs (with a unique combination of Italian seasoning and garam masala) later, we headed back out to a show at the Dance Place. Niyati had found a traveling group called the Dikshina Daniel Phoenix Dance Company who put on a Contemporary-Bharatanatyam hybrid piece called Chakra. Although these dancers were not trained in classical dance and none of them were of Indian origin, the story, the music, the visuals all came together beautifully and we didn't even realize how much time had passed. After coming back home we watched Andaz Apna Apna, did henna, and ate some amazing chocolate coated almonds that are definitely going on my next shopping list. We couldn't get through the movie (I don't know how anyone can...), wrapped up the henna and, naturally, killed the box of almonds. What an ideal weekend. I love you, Niayti. Also, Niyati's roommate, Caitlin, is a pretty cool gal. Note: Most of the pictures are of me because 1) she didn't want to be photographed as much, 2) I obviously have no problem with it, and 3) I don't have as good of an eye as she does so the pictures that I did take were sub-par. Apologies for that.
Bama Aunty only comes to town once a year, so I always try to make it a point to see her. This year, she was preparing for her first arangetram after ours, held at Daytona. She was staying at a beach side apartment with an incredible view and we all took a long walk (3 miles!) down by the shore. This strip of the beach was so peaceful and the weather couldn't have been better. We talked for hours about everything from weddings to movies to life in India. Aunty is such an inspiration -- there is a reason so many of her old students keep her in their life well after they stop learning from her. I don't think you realize you miss a person until you are with them again. Can't wait to see her in a few weeks at the event. The pictures don't do justice but I tried.
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November 2023
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